TORONTO – The Knicks made Vince Carter disappear on the offensive end much of the game. Then Carter, not known for defensive brilliance, won last night’s game for the Raptors by deflect ing Allan Houston’s pass at midcourt with 30 seconds left and his team down one.

Carter stole the ball and raced in on a fastbreak with the Raptors trailing 68-67. Latrell Sprewell got back to wrap up Carter. But he made both foul shots to give the Raptors a 69-68 lead with 24 seconds left and they hung on for a 70-68 victory as the Knicks were held scoreless for the final 3:02.

Chris Childs, with eight seconds remaining, and Houston, at the buzzer, both missed potential game-winning shots, with Houston’s launched from 3-point land.

What a waste. What a waste of a monstrous defensive effort that saw the Knicks hold the Raptors to just 12 points in the final quarter and just 32.1 percent shooting for the game.

“You hold teams like that with what we have offensively, we should win,” said Houston, who missed 10 of his last 11 shots to finish 4 of 14.

Childs, who had been shooting well from the field last night, missed an open 18-footer from the left of the key with eight seconds left after Sprewell (team-high 18 points) passed out of the double-team.

“There were two guys on the ball,” Sprewell said. “He had a good look at it.”

Carter got the rebound and was fouled with 4.2 seconds remaining. He made just 1 of 2 free throws to move the Raptors ahead 70-68, giving Houston a chance to win it. But Houston’s last-second trey clanked off the rim from the right wing to seal the crushing loss. The Knicks now must host the rolling Jazz tonight.

“The first second it looked good but it really shouldn’t have come down to that kind of shot for us,” Houston said.

Carter’s game-winning steal came on the Knicks’ longest possession of the game as offensive rebounds by Kurt Thomas and Marcus Camby appeared to have sealed the game. Ironically, the Knicks (14-9) were hammered on the boards 55-36 but those two offensive rebounds could have saved the game, if not for Carter’s defensive gem. Before the game, Spree cautioned not to compare Carter to Michael Jordan, then Carter went out and made the kind of clutch defensive play that he used to make to will a win. Carter, doubled all night, was relatively quiet until the end, finishing with 24 points on 8 of 22 shooting.

“I was trying to kick it to Spree on the wing,” said Houston. “That’s one of the plays you can’t afford to make late in the game. He made a good play but I made a bad pass, a bad read.”

The Knicks’ failure to score after going up 68-64 with 3:02 left buried them. Over the last 4:53, the Knicks were 1 of 9 from the field, with two turnovers. Glen Rice (4-1, 10 points) sat out most of the fourth quarter but was inserted in the final seconds when the Knicks needed a trey.

The Knicks had displayed their modus operandi that swept the Raptors out of the first round last April, clamping their screws into the Raptors defensively down the stretch but couldn’t finish the job.

“We played a great defensive game, we just didn’t execute down the stretch,” said Thomas, who did well for himself amid the raging feud with Charles Oakley, posting a double-double, making 6 of 10 shots for 12 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s tough. We know as long as we continue to play defense like that we’re going to win games.”

“We made it a defensive game, just like we wanted it,” Sprewell said.

The Knicks have now lost five of the last six regular-season games.

The loss could come attached with more bad news as Larry Johnson did not play the second half because of a sprained MCL in his right knee and will need an MRI today. Johnson suffered the same injury against San Antonio in the ’99 Finals and played the next game, but it is likely he will miss a few games this time.

Thomas hit what looked like one of the biggest shots of the game, drilling a top of the circle jumper with 8:33 remaining, giving the Knicks a 61-60 lead – their first lead since the second quarter.

Toronto had five chances to retake the lead but came up empty. In the fourth, Toronto missed 10 of its first 11 shots. Houston then drilled a right-corner bomb to make it 63-60 with 5:25 left and Spree’s right-wing jumper put them ahead 66-60 with 4:53 remaining.

With George Foreman sitting courtside, there were no fisticuffs between the warring Oakley and Thomas. Because of Oakley’s fight with Jeff McInnis two weeks ago, the teams now enter the court from two separate tunnels.

Oakley, calling for the ball madly, sank a left-side jumper with 6:00 left in the third to give the Raptors a 51-41 lead that the Knicks erased. Oakley finished with 14 points and 11 boards.

The Knicks were hammered on the boards 26-15 in the first half but still were within 39-37 at the break. The Raptors should have had a comfier lead with their board combination but shot poorly. During one instance late in the second quarter, Toronto center Antonio Davis missed a layup, came down with a rebound and missed a dunk.

The Knicks missed their first six shots and fell behind 7-0 at the start. They didn’t score their first points until 8:00 left in the first when Houston drilled a liner from 18 feet.

With LJ out, center Luc Longley saw his first action with 3:00 left in the third quarter and played a 12-minute stretch during which the Knicks took control.